May 15-16, 2021
From the Pastor’s Desk: Rev. Simon Lee
Dear brothers and sisters,
“By Canada Day, all (age 12 and up) will be vaccinated!” What a great news after over a year of COVID-19. Since mid-March 2020, we have been living under the dark cloud of the pandemic, seeing the daily and total death toll in staggering numbers far beyond what we have ever seen in our lifetime. We had a taste of the deep helplessness when a month ago my own daughter Sarah was tested positive for COVID, Lydia and I both must be self-quarantined from her and each other, each in our own rooms! Praise the Lord for protecting us through that period of trial.
But for me and many of us Christians, the worse thing is that we cannot “go back to Church” where we normally can cry out to God for help in prayer and get the encouragement from our fellow brothers and sisters in the community of God. Maybe we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Finally, we have hope that we will return to worship in the house of God soon!
Recently I had the opportunity of studying Ps 42 (and 43 connected) in teaching Sunday School. As in Psalm 84 (which we looked at last time), Psalm 42 bears the name “of the Sons of Korah” as the psalmist and has the same theme of “yearning to be in the house of God.” We have seen how the author treasures the precious opportunity to be able to serve God in the sanctuary, despite the judgement of God on Korah the Levite, his father (I Chron. 9:19ff). Here we see in Psalm 42 and 43, evidence that he was in exile (43:1) which most probably was the reason why he could not go to the temple to worship God. We also see evidence of him being persecuted and scorned at by ungodly people (42:9; 43:2) to the point that he started to feel that God had abandoned him (42:9; 43:2).
Dubbed as the “China virus” by the former President of United States, anti-Asian sentiment has grown more and more over the last year in North America. We hear of horrible stories of racial discrimination and violence, against innocent people, many seniors and women, even in Vancouver and Richmond, often in broad daylight. So on top of all the fears from contracting the virus, many Asians in North America have to deal with this additional social pressure in this our adopted country, a place where we have called home for many years. Because of this, we feel even more alienated and isolated, resulting in physical and mental stress, from the physical and social distancing. While this is a far cry from what the psalmist experienced while he was in exile, some of the turmoil that the psalmist felt is being experienced by us today.
How did the psalmist go from total despair to real hope? How did he turn his lament to vow of praise? I would like to point out several important movements in the psalms that was the process by which the psalmist journeyed from desperation to exaltation.
1. Maintaining a strong thirst for God (42:1-2)
“My soul thirsts for God, the living God.” (42:2) It all starts with where our heart is. The picture is that of a deer perhaps travelling for a long time from an arid desert to the streams of water, panting and being satisfied by the cool and fresh water that he could drink. So despite his circumstances, the psalmist maintained a strong desire to be close to God whom he recognised as “the living God.” His God is the “living” God because He is the source of life and hope, therein lies his anchor in the storm of life.
2. Maintaining an honest heart before God (42:3, 5a, 9a, 10, 11a; 43:1a)
The psalmist is not shy about lamenting before God about his feeling sad, downcast, and full of inner turmoil. Indeed we have a High Priest in Christ Jesus who understands all our pains and suffering because He himself has endured the worst of trials and temptations, and has come through victoriously (over sin and death). God knows where we are and therefore we can pour our heart of misery before Him, with no pretense, including even our desperation and disappointments with God.
3. Maintaining a wholesome remembrance of God’s grace, faithfulness and provisions in the past
The psalmist remembers the good old days of pilgrimage (42:4), the beauty and majesty of God’s creation (42:6, 7), and the protection of God night and day (8). As the songwriter reminds us, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; count your blessings and see what God has done,” so today we need to remember especially in hard times all the blessings of Gods in the past. When we cannot go back to worship in the sanctuary, let us remember how blessed we were when we were able to do so in the past. When we feel down and depressed, look at the beautiful creation of God in nature and ponder on His greatness, and know that He has never left us.
4. Maintaining a prayerful attitude before God
Despite his difficult circumstances, the psalmist never ceased to go to God in sincere prayer and earnest petition (42:9, 10; 43:1,2), recognising Him as his “salvation,” “rock” and “refuge.” He appealed to God’s promise of deliverance and God’s own name (reputation) and sovereignty (42:9, 10; 43:1,2). The more desperate we feel, the more persevering should our prayers be. The good news is God does answer prayers.
5. Maintaining a worshipful heart before God
It is remarkable to note the constant refrain of the psalmist where he reminds himself again and again to hope in God and vow to praise Him (42:5b, 11b; 43:5). Our strong desire to draw near to God leads us to a worshipful heart before Him, despite the circumstances we are in. “I shall again praise him” (42:5, 11; 43:5), says the psalmist. This we know, first we can worship Him anywhere, and also we will again one day be able to go and worship Him in His house, together with all our dear brothers and sisters. This is the prayer of the psalmist, and should be ours now, “Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.” (43: 3,4) Amen!
Your servant in Christ
Pastor Simon